Effects of Covid-19 on Education Worldwide

[handdrummer]

Does the size of your nasal cavities really make a difference?! That's the first I've heard that one, and it's coming from the head Covid honcho.

Maybe he's one of those 90 IQ people.

[HHTel]

When my grandchildren were taken to school today, the school announced that from Thursday, school would be back to being full time. I know the government were discussing it but I've not seen any official announcement.

The kids back at school 5 days a week........... I'm happy!

[PeteC]

Note the below announcement from our Calendar Thread:

September 2020

September 4 and 7 have just been declared as substitute holidays for Songkran, creating a 4 day holiday. These are the two remaining holidays that were previously cancelled due to Covid-19.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... e-holidays

This could be a problem for International Schools as those that I know of already took the full Songkran holiday allotment last school year as part of the term break between Term #2 and 3.

If that was the case, these additional days off will need to be made up at some point during the 2020-21 school year, or there may be some International Schools that may simply remain in session on September 4 and 7. Most if not all International Schools start Term #1 this coming Monday, August 17.

[Big Boy]

Hua Hin International School resumes on the 17th with a week of inset days, so kids go back on the 24th according to their calendar.

[HHTel]

My grandkids (all living with me at the moment) went back to school yesterday - full time. School again today. Two consecutive QUIET days instead of the one or two days a week.

Life's good again!!

[Bamboo Grove]

We have been back to school for two days now. Next week I will know more as this week I didn't have any students but some special arrangements will take place.

[PeteC]

Some International Schools are in a bit of a mess, at least my daughter's is. There are teachers in quarantine, and teachers just arriving due to the erratic airline schedules who then need to go through quarantine.

This first month of class is not going to be smooth.

[PeteC]

Just as info. Students here in International Schools and following the England curriculum were also subject to the debacle concerning A Level and GCSE scoring associated with the cancellation of testing due to Covid 19.

Now that it has been reversed in the UK to basically use teacher recommendations for the grade, the same applies here to last school year's A Level and GCSE scoring. Story below:


https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-53810655

My daughters IS here has already announced the change in grades associated with A Levels, and that it will also be applied to the soon to be released GCSE results, which I think is today.

[HHTel]

This is partly humour, but also an effect on education. I saw this quote on Facebook. The schools go back in the UK to 100% face to face next month.

"How long will it take schoolkids to realise that one day's fake sickness gets them a 2 week holiday!"

[Dannie Boy]

Having just had a 24 week holiday, let’s hope that not many take up this option!!

[buksida]

Thailand likes its holidays - the schools will be closing again next week for Songkran 2.0 ... like these kids need more time away from education this year.

[handdrummer]

It's best that their education be curtailed. After all, it leads to protests.

[PeteC]

Seoul schools go online

South Korea ordered schools to close from Tuesday in the capital Seoul and surrounding areas as it battles its worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began, surpassing the previous peak in February.

The school closure is a step towards the imposition of Phase 3 social distancing rules, a move that would essentially lock down Asia's fourth-largest economy.

The government launched a massive tracing effort involving hundreds of troops, police and officials to help track down virus carriers. Most of the new cases were in Seoul, the neighbouring port city of Incheon, and Gyeonggi Province, home to over 25 million people.......

https://www.bangkokpost.com/world/20351 ... vid-update

[PeteC]

London Mayor Sadiq Khan is calling for the government to ask all secondary schools and colleges in the capital to shut early before Christmas.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Khan also says he wants them to reopen later in January because of "significant" coronavirus outbreaks among 10 to 19-year-olds.

Testing should be "urgently expanded" to students, he says.

London is currently in tier two, but the capital may be put into tier three restrictions this week - the highest level - following a rise in Covid-19 cases.

Calling for more support for businesses if London is moved to tier three, Khan said: "If the government does decide to introduce further restrictions in London this week, the economic impact on business could be catastrophic with hundreds of thousands of livelihoods at stake."

It comes as schools in Greenwich became the first in England to move fully to online learning from Tuesday.

Last week, the government announced mass testing for schools in the worst-hit areas of London and Essex, which are in tier two, and Kent, which is in tier three.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-55299653

[PeteC]

PC Sales Notch Strongest Growth in a Decade

Pandemic drives sales as employees and students do their work remotely

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/20 ... n-a-decade

Personal computer sales last year registered their strongest growth in a decade, underscoring a shift to computers from mobile devices during the coronavirus pandemic, according to industry data.

"Demand is pushing the PC market forward and all signs indicate this surge still has a way to go," Ryan Reith, program vice president with International Data Corp.'s Worldwide Mobile Device Trackers, said in a statement.

IDC counted 302.6 million units sold globally last year, up 13% from the previous year. Research firm Gartner said PC shipments reached 275 million units in 2020, up 4.8% on the year. Similarly, Canalys pegged the increase at 11% to 297 million units, the highest annual growth since 2010 and the highest shipment volume since 2014.

Much of the difference in the tallies from the data providers comes from how each company defines PCs. Hardware makers in recent years have increasingly blurred the lines between personal computers and devices such as tablets.

The blockbuster figures come out just as CES, the world's largest tech show, gets under way -- virtually this year because of the pandemic. The annual gathering is often the staging ground for PC makers to unveil their latest models, which could help drive future sales.

The latest results showed strong sales in the fourth quarter, typically a strong period because of holiday sales. The pandemic added to demand as school districts, company employees and families sought to buy PCs.

IDC said fourth-quarter sales rose 26% to 91.6 million units; Gartner said sales rose nearly 11% to 79.4 million units; and Canalys pegged growth at 25% to 90.3 million units.

Mr. Reith said that while growth in 2020 centered on work-from-home and remote-learning needs, gaming PCs and monitor sales remain at record levels.

He also said Chrome-based devices are expanding beyond education into the consumer market.

Chromebook shipments reached 11.7 million units in the fourth quarter alone, according to preliminary data from Gartner.

For the year, the firm said Chromebook shipments increased by more than 80% to nearly 30 million units, driven by the North American education market.

The pandemic reversed a yearslong "phone-first focus," Mikako Kitagawa, research director at Gartner, said in a statement.

She sees the PC momentum carrying through at least the first half of 2021.

The high demand, however, continues to result in shortages. IDC's Jitesh Ubrani said in some cases vendors were forced to resort to airfreight, which drove up costs to cut delivery times.

Lenovo Group Ltd. was ranked as the No. 1 vendor in 2020, followed by HP Inc., according to industry data. Dell Technologies Inc., Apple Inc. and Acer Inc. rounded out the top five.